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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina on Monday described People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Iltija Mufti's statement calling Hindutva a "disease" as "irresponsible and objectionable" and termed it an attempt to create a 'divide' in the society. "The statement of PDP leader Iltija Mufti is a very irresponsible, objectionable statement...The tweet by Mufti hurts the religious statements of people...This is an attempt to create a divide in society... We should respect the rule of law and the Constitution... The law will take its course. She should apologize for her tweet," Ravinder Raina told ANI.
This comes after PDP leader Iltija Mufti, daughter of former J-K CM Mehbooba Mufti, reacting to a purported video of the attack on minor Muslim boys forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram,' called Hindutva "a disease" that has "afflicted millions of Indians & sullied a God's name." "Ram the deity must hang his head in shame & watch helplessly as minor Muslim boys are whacked with chappals only because they refuse to chant his name," she stated on Saturday. BJP leaders reacted sharply to the statement and accused Mufti of hurting the faith of the people. "It will not be acceptable if anyone starts making comments against the other religion. She has made derogatory statements against Lord Ram and hurt the faith of people," BJP leader Kavinder Gupta stated. However, on Sunday the PDP leader clarified her 'controversial' post where she expressed a strong criticism of 'Hindutva,' calling it a 'disease.' Clarifying her stance, Mufti drew a clear distinction between Hindutva and Hinduism, emphasizing that the former is a religion promoting values of secularism, love, and compassion, similar to Islam, while criticizing Hindutva as an "ideology of hate.". "There is a lot of difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is a philosophy of hate that Veer Savarkar spread in India in the 1940s with the aim of establishing the hegemony of Hindus, and the philosophy was that India belongs to Hindus and is for Hindus. Like Islam, Hinduism is also a religion that promotes secularism, love, and compassion. So, let's not deliberately distort it," she said. Mufti further argued that the slogan "Jai Shri Ram" is being used as a tool to instigate hate, rather than representing the ideals of "Ramrajya." (ANI)
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